Veterans Day, Veterans Poppy
You may notice that people wear red poppies each year on Veterans Day. But why is that? In this article, you will learn the origins of Veterans Day as well as how the red poppy became a symbol of remembrance.
If you live in the United States, you might notice that people wear bright red poppies on Veterans Day. But how did these cheerful-looking red flowers become a symbol of the remembrance of sacrifices made in war? This article will explain the origins of Veterans Day and how red poppies became its symbol.
Veterans Day is a day that honors and remembers all soldiers who have died in previous wars. It is always on November 11th, which was the day that World War I ended in 1918.
At the time, World War I was the most devastating war in history. While it only lasted four years, the advancement of military technology made it one of the deadliest wars. An estimated 20 million lives were lost, including both soldiers and civilians.
Initially called Armistice Day, the first recorded observance of Veterans Day was on November 11, 1919. This was exactly a year after the initial armistice between Germany and the Entente was signed and a little over four months after the official end of the war on June 28, 1919, when the Treaty of Versailles was signed.
The United States switched over the name to Veterans Day after World War II while other countries opted to change the name of this holiday to Remembrance Day.
Today, many countries celebrate this holiday by having a two-minute silence at the eleventh hour. Many people wear red poppies on this day as well. So what is the connection between poppies and Veterans Day?
Before diving into the connection between poppies and Veterans Day, it’s important to note that poppies in general have had a connection to death and sacrifice for quite some time.
A good example of this can be found in Virgil’s epic tale, The Aeneid, where he uses poppies as a metaphor to describe fallen soldiers. Christianity also ties poppies to sacrifice with the red of the poppy symbolizing the blood of Christ and his sacrifice on the cross.
Red poppies in particular have had an association with conflict since the Napoleonic Wars where a writer noticed how the poppies grew over the graves of soldiers. So what was it about World War I that transformed the red poppy into an enduring symbol of remembrance?
It all started with a poem written by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. After a particularly horrific battle on May 3, 1915, where many young soldiers lost their lives, including his friend, McCrae noticed something interesting. Poppies had quickly grown on the graves of those who had just died. The next day after the funeral, he composed the now-famous ‘In Flanders Fields’ poem.
Written from the point of view of the dead, the poem speaks on the soldiers’ sacrifices and commands the living to press on. At the time of its publication, it became the most popular poem of its era, being republished numerous times throughout the world.
McCrae’s poem inspired many people from around the world, but it especially touched two women – Moina Michael and Madame Anna Guerin. Thanks to the poem, both women championed the use of poppies as the symbol for remembrance in the United States and beyond.
While Guerin is credited as the originator of the Veterans/Remembrance Poppy, Michael began campaigning for the poppy’s adoption back in 1918. Thanks to her work, the concept was not new to the United States and thus more readily accepted when Guerin broached the topic with the American Legion in 1920.
Initially, Guerin’s Poppy Days benefited the widows and orphans of the war-devastated areas of France. Her idea was to have all the World War I Allied nations adorn these poppies, made by the widows and orphans, as an emblem for remembrance. In this way, it would create some funds to help support the families of the fallen.
With the backing of the French government, Guerin traveled to the Allied countries and encouraged the various veteran organizations to adopt the poppy. She was successful and now poppies have become an international symbol of remembrance.
Poppies have long symbolized death, remembrance, and sacrifice. However, it was thanks to McCrae’s famous poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ and the tireless work of Madame Anna Guerin that the flower became such an internationally recognized symbol of Remembrance Day.
Today, the modern Veterans Day Poppy has been trademarked by veterans’ associations in many jurisdictions. When you purchase a poppy, the money goes towards providing financial, social, and emotional support to members and veterans of the armed forces.